TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: writers to programmers ratio From:Mitch Berg <mberg -at- IS -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 14 Jan 1997 07:52:33 -0600
amram wrote:
>
> What is the optimal ratio of TWs to engineering staff?...They number about 20 all together.
> My guess is that 60% of them are programmers. The product
> (a rather complex tool for internet programming)
> is due to be released in six months. No real documentation
> exists.
> Is this a recipie for disaster or what?
>
>I would like to
> cite to the head honcho of this outfit, some official-type
> stats re writers to programmers. Any ideas? A search of
> Michael Krigman's database yielded nothing.
First, what kind of dox are they looking for?
If they're looking for end-user dox - guides, online help - one person
_could_ probably pull it off (I've done it). It's not ideal, but it
could work.
If they need system dox - class encyclopedias, sys requirements, etc -
especially for an OO system, you'll need more (esp. if the end-user
stuff is also slated). There was an article in the Nov. 1994 issue of
Technical Communication, written by a group of IBM techwriters, that
suggested a ration of 1 techwhirly to every 3 programmers, in order to
capture the evolution of the project's object structure and all of the
scenarios, business logic and other material behind it.
TECHWR-L (Technical Communication) List Information: To send a message
to 2500+ readers, e-mail to TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU -dot- Send commands
to LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU (e.g. HELP or SIGNOFF TECHWR-L).
Search the archives at http://www.documentation.com/ or search and
browse the archives at http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html
